Update: I've decided to devote this page to Dreamweaver CS5.5 bugs as they are found and reported. If you find a bug, let me know by posting a comment below and I'll do my best to pass it on. 

Extensions not installing in Creative Suite CS5 and CS5.5 on Mac OS X Lion

I've recently come across a report of Creative Suite extensions (including Dreamweaver extensions) failing to install after Mac users update their system to OS X 10.7, commonly known as Lion. Adobe has addressed the issue with a patch available through Update Manager so, if you update regularly, you probably haven't been affected.

Others can update from a standalone downloader available on the Adobe site. Users of CS5.5 should download the Extension Manager 5.5.2 update and users of CS5 should download the Extension Manager 5.0.2 update. Both updates are dated December 2, 2011.

Dreamweaver CS5.5 FTP bug affects GoDaddy users

This was just posted on the Adobe Dreamweaver Team Blog (see the post for more details):

We’ve been hearing rumblings from some users about the upload (put) and/or download (get) process failing during FTP file transfer in Dreamweaver CS5.5. The failure is occurring primarily amongst those who use GoDaddy as their web host.

According to Adobe the (hard to comprehend) solution is to "Locate a file called 'webformmailer.php' in the root folder of your FTP server, and then either move it to another folder or delete it." That may work for most folks as long as you aren't using the webformailer script in your site.

Windows XP shutting down on attempted launch of Dreamweaver CS5.5

Apparently some computers running Windows XP shut down or restart when users attempt to open Dreamweaver CS5.5. Some users also report blue or black error screens prior to the shut down/restart.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION FOUND: Thanks to Alex for sharing how he managed to overcome this issue. His solution is in the comments but it's important enough to repeat here.

I was able to fix my problem by updating the latest xp service pack. I remembered that I had recently reformatted my machine … and was running off of xp service pack 2. When I downloaded and installed the sp3, Dreamweaver worked with no problems and no shut-downs. I am now able to open and work on multiple projects with no issues. You may want to check and be certain that all xp updates are installed properly. This may or may not be a solution for you if your running xp.

In spite of a few reports of serious bugs in Dreamweaver CS5.5, it has, for the most part, proven to be a solid and stable release. But that doesn't mean you should take the upgrade process lightly.

For instance, I recently came across a report of site definitions being lost when some Mac Users upgraded Dreamweaver to version CS5 (see http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/890/cpsid_89053.html). While I haven't heard of the issue occurring with the CS5.5 update or on Windows systems, it still serves as a reminder of a simple step that you can take to protect your site definitions before you upgrade: back them up. Here's how it's done.

Back up all your site definitions

1. Select the Site>Manage Sites… menu option.
2. In the Manage Sites dialog select all of your sites. You can do this by Command/Control+clicking on each site name or by selecting the first site in the list and Shift+clicking on the last site in the list.
3. With all the sites selected, click the Export… button.
4. In the Export Site dialog you will be prompted to save the site definition file (a .ste file) for your first site. The settings you choose will be used for saving all your site definitions. Each site definition will be saved individually, so I recommend saving the definitions into a folder you create specifically for them.
5. Navigate to the folder where you want to save your definitions and click Save.
6. You will be prompted to choose on of the following options:
1. Back up my settings…
2. Share settings with other users…
7. Since, the first option saves all of your site information, this is the option you want in order to be able to restore your site definitions later. Select it and click OK.
8. Back in the Manage Sites dialog, click OK. The site definitions for all of your sites will be saved into the selected folder.

To restore  a site definition from the backup .ste file, Choose the Site>Manage Sites… menu option and in the Manage Sites dialog click the Import… button and locate and open the backup file for the site you wish to restore.

Once you've backed up all your existing sites, I recommend you back up new sites as you create them and existing sites if, and when, you edit the site definition. And be sure to keep a copy of your backups in a safe location.

Backing up only takes a few minutes but, when the unexpected happens, it can save you hours of frustration.

If you found this article useful you might also want to check out Recovering Lost Site Definitions (Mac) and Recovering Dreamweaver Site Definitions on Windows

Update: Added additional Mac OS 10.7 Lion issues 

Mac users of Adobe products will want to check out this list of Known Issues with Adobe products on Mac OS 10.7 Lion.

CS2 and earlier versions not supported under OS X Lion

Most of the issues are minor but this will be bad news to some users: "CS2 or earlier versions of Adobe products required Rosetta to run on newer Intel based mac systems. These older versions will no longer be supported as Apple removed Rosetta support with the 10.7 release." (Which is actually a good thing)

Everyone else will want to check the complete list before upgrading.

Hopefully these issues, most of which have work arounds will be addresses BEFORE Adobe CS6!

Flash Player Supported in Lion

After an initial report to the contrary, Adobe has called, "OOPS!" and reported that "The final release of Mac OS X Lion (10.7) provides the same support for Flash hardware video acceleration as Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6)."

Known issues with Office for Mac on MacOS Lion

I know this started out about Adobe products but a lot of us also user Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint so I thought I'd share Microsoft's recent post about Office compatibility issues and Lion. The major issue is that Office 2004 will not run on Lion. For information on other issues, check out Known issues with Office on MacOS 10.7 (Lion).

I’ve been a customer of HostGator for about five years. Over that period I’ve recommended them to clients and students, sold a few hosting contracts through the affiliate ads on my site and even offered a tutorial on how to sign up for hosting with the company.

I’ve been happy to do that because they have been the best hosting provider I have worked with…PERIOD.

I say that because their level of customer and tech support has been exemplary…

Until Last Week

On Firday, a number of my sites were unreachable for five plus hours for visitors in certain locations (including mine). This was apparently the result of a problem with the CloudFlare Content Delivery Network (CDN). CloudFlare is a third party service offered and promoted by HostGator. Upon becoming aware of the problem I contact HostGator and CloudFlare support.

HostGator Support

As usual I was able to get in touch with HostGator support almost immediately. Unfortunately, it was quickly apparent that the techs I dealt with:

• had little or no understanding of CloudFlare.
• had no access to information on the status of the CloudFlare network.
• couldn’t provide support other than offering to pass the issue up the chain where I would get a response within 24 hours.

I asked that CloudFlare be disabled on all my domains and crossed my fingers.

CloudFlare Support (or rather lack thereof)

My response from CloudFlare was even less helpful. The only support offered was through their trouble ticket system. In response to my ticket, I got an email stating, “We usually get back to people very quickly.”

I’m still waiting.

Seven hours later, in response to a question on Twitter, I did get this:

@DWcourse I've been able to confirm a brief service issue in our Chicago datacenter. Fixed now...sorry about that.

March 11, 2011 2:16 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@CloudFlare

CloudFlare

Apparently, to CloudFlare, five plus hours of down time is a brief service issue.

Back to HostGator

The issue was apparently resolved and my sites (sans-CloudFlare) appear to be working fine.

However, because I considered the issue serious and I had no way of knowing if the issue might still be affecting other locations, I continued to ask HostGator support for information.

Here an excerpt from their last response:

“Additional information is necessary in order to troubleshoot this issue. The only information we received from you is the output of a trace test, and the output of some pings. We'll need to know exactly how to replicate the issue.”

So, let me see if I understand.

1. I spent about an hour with you in Chat and on the phone as well as filing a trouble ticket and corresponding with you on Twitter.
2. I gave you ALL the information you requested.
3. I gave you additional information (including that the problem might be CloudFlare related).

But the problem is that I didn’t give you enough information to troubleshoot the issue. Did it occur to you that perhaps you should have asked for the information you needed when I was on the phone with you and the problem was ongoing?

And now you want me to tell you how to duplicate a problem I didn’t create and that was, from all indications, the result of problems with one of your third party providers?

That’s not just bad support; it’s insulting and makes you appear incompetent. I could have at least respected you if you had said, “Since the problem is not ongoing, we can’t diagnose it.”

So I Pulled My Affiliate Ads

In my experience there are two reasons to change hosting providers

1. Ongoing uptime and performance issues.
2. Bad support.

This experience definitely falls into category two. So I started exploring other hosting providers and pulled the HostGator ads from my site. After all, if I’m unhappy with the service, I don’t want to recommend it to others.

But I have another rule:

• Don’t jump ship after one bad experience – especially if a company has a history of excellent service.

So, after cooling down, I’ve decided that, given their previously excellent track record, HostGator deserves a second chance and that I’m still willing to recommend them. So I’m not changing hosting providers and I’m reinstating the ads and offering these caveats:

HostGator Hosting

HostGator service has traditionally been excellent. But they are a young and rapidly growing company and, in my experience, the quality of service from hosting companies can deteriorate rapidly if they grow too quickly or don’t continue to devote adequate resources to support. Given that HostGator’s reputation is built on customer service, I expect them to carefully monitor the quality of their support and take steps to correct problems like the ones I experienced.

CloudFlare: Not Recommended

Neither CloudFlare nor HostGator is currently able to offer adequate customer support for the CloudFlare service and I recommend that users not activate the service on their HostGator domains.

The Future

I’ll continue to monitor and report on HostGator and, if support does deteriorate, I’ll let you know and find another provider to recommend. And, if future support lives up to their past standards, I’ll (very happily) let you know.

About comments

If a representative of HostGator or CloudFlare would like to respond, please include an email address so I can use to verify that you are authorized to speak for the company.

Please do not submit recommendations for hosting services.